Hollow Knight Silksong is a sequel to the 2017 hit metroidvania game, Hollow Knight, with the latter being widely regarded as one of the best games of all time. Even though the 2017 game was a critical success, the hype surrounding the sequel is way higher than anything the original game received. As such, it’s natural for players to wonder whether they need to play the original Hollow Knight to understand its sequel, Silksong.
Should I Play The Original Hollow Knight Before Silksong?
If you want the short answer, then yes, you should play the original Hollow Knight before Silksong. However, it’s not mandatory, since despite the links, Silksong will be its standalone game. The problem is, there might be references from the original game that you’ll fail to understand if you decide to skip it.
For an overview of how the two games are connected, the following section provides the necessary details. It’s still highly recommended that you play the original game yourself before jumping into the sequel. Regardless of whether you’re a Kickstarter backer for Silksong or just an enthusiast, learning the lore of the original Hollow Knight will improve your immersion in the sequel.
Note: Spoilers Ahead
How Are Hollow Knight And Silksong Connected?
The protagonist of Silksong, Hornet, is the princess of Hallownest, as she is the daughter of the Pale King and Herrah the Beast, who is the Queen of Deepnest. She is essentially a sibling to the Hollow Knight, who is the protagonist of the base game. Now, without spoiling too much, you have to understand that there were multiple Hollow Knights, who were essentially vessels for the Infection.
Before the events of Hollow Knight, the Moth Tribe worshipped a higher being called The Radiance. As the kingdom of Hallownest was founded, Radiance was forgotten. However, soon the residents of Hallownest started to have dreams about the Radiance, which led to the first wave of infection.
The Pale King had to stop it to prevent the kingdom from plunging into ruins. As such, he started creating void vessels that could be used to seal the Radiance. The vessel that was capable of capturing the Radiance was supposed to be pure, but it turned out that even the Hollow Knight can be corrupted. Eventually, the Radiance was sealed, but it wasn’t enough as the infection broke free and the kingdom was plunged into a second wave.
This is where the protagonist comes in, who is yet another Hollow Knight and tries to protect the kingdom. During the events of the game, you meet Hornet, who at first is hostile towards you. This is because she wants to find a vessel that can fight the Radiance and kill it once and for all. She doesn’t want yet another vessel just to seal the Radiance, and thereby she attacks the protagonist to test their mettle. The fight is difficult, but on PC, where you can use a keyboard for controls, it makes the Hornet fight a lot simpler than on a Controller.
There are a total of five endings to Hollow Knight, with the Radiance being plunged into the void and destroyed being considered the true ending. After the events of Hollow Knight, especially the ending where the Radiance is dead, Hornet is shown to be alive. She is then captured and taken to Pharloom, where the events of Hollow Knight Silksong take place.
